What Type of Hosting Has the Cheapest Startup Cost?

The majority of novice webmasters allocate a very limited budget to their beginning endeavors online, as they are not yet confident in their ability to generate web traffic and bring in a residual income with their websites. In fact, many novice webmasters don’t even know how to build a website, have never owned a web hosting plan before, and are therefore understandably cautious about the amount of money they want to invest in web hosting. While more experienced webmasters may opt for hosting types such as dedicated hosting (which provides access to a server which is solely dedicated to the websites of a single webmaster), inexperienced webmasters usually opt for cheaper hosting types such as shared hosting. When trying to find the hosting type with the cheapest startup cost it is important to consider two types of hosting – shared hosting and VPS hosting.

Although shared web hosting provides the cheapest monthly costs, with prices starting at as low as two dollars per month, the start up cost of a shared hosting plan is usually much more. It is important to note that, the longer you pay in advance, the lower the monthly cost will be, and many shared web hosting providers will require you to pay at least one year up front. If you choose to only pay a year, it is very unlikely you’ll receive a price as low as two dollars per month, as the average price (when paid on a yearly basis) is about $5-$10 per month. Thus, the minimum startup costs associated with shared hosting are usually about $60-$120, plus any additional setup fees that may be charged by the hosting company.

Although the monthly cost of a VPS hosting plan varies widely at about $10-$200 per month, depending on the plan capabilities and hosting provider. However, the majority of VPS hosting providers do not require you to pay a year in advance, and instead will allow you to pay on a monthly basis. Thus, the startup cost for VPS hosting plan is no more than the cost of the first months hosting (which can be as cheap as $5-$7 in some cases). It is important to realize that you can also pay in advance of VPS hosting in order to receive a lower monthly cost, just as you can but shared hosting. It should also be noted that some VPS hosting providers do require payment for a year in advance, so it is important to shop around to find a VPS hosting plan with a low start up cost.

While shared hosting is ultimately cheaper than VPS hosting the long run, it is cheaper to purchase a monthly VPS hosting plan for $5-$10 per month if you are on a strict startup budget for your first web hosting endeavor. If you find that you would like to continue with your online endeavors, VPS hosting gives you the advantage of being able to cancel your plan without losing any of the money that you would have paid in advance.

An independent Internet professional currently living in LA, California. Helping people and businesses prosper online since 2006. Follow me on Twitter and Google+.

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